CCC Drops Series Opener Against PHSC 10-5

Clearwater hosted Pasco-Hernando State College on Friday night for the first of a three game series this weekend. PHSC jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and never looked back.

The maroon and black scored in the bottom of the second inning after freshman Trevor Lancaster drove in senior Joel Felten for the Cougars first run of the game on a double, cutting the deficit to 5-1. CCC added one more in the bottom of the third to cut the gap to 5-2 after Felten hit an RBI single.

Each team added a pair of runs in the seventh making it 7-4. After already scoring two, the Cougars stranded two runners after PHSC's starting pitcher Danny Rodriguez ended the threat with a strikeout.

Trailing 10-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the Cougars plated one more run as freshman Nathan Stanley crossed home plate for the third time after a throwing error into centerfield allowed him to advance.

Sophomore Emmanuel Chmielewski went 3-5 and reached base in all five plate appearances. Stanley also went 3-5 and scored three runs. Felten finished 2-4 with an RBI and was hit by a pitch.

The 10-5 loss drops the Cougars to 11-19 on the year. PHSC picked up their eighteenth win and are now 18-11 overall.

Clearwater will travel to PHSC tomorrow for a 12:00pm start for the doubleheader to finish the home and home weekend series. PHSC leads the series 1-0.

NOTES: Just the second time this season that the Cougars have scored at least five runs and did not win, currently carrying a 7-2 record when scoring five or more times...third time Chmielewski has collected three hits in a game this season (2/25 vs. Webber International University and 3/8 vs. Johnson University)...second time Stanley has scored three times in a game this season (3/4 vs. Grace College)...Lancaster's double was his fourth this year, tied for second most among the hitters.